


Equations of the heart

by imjusttheoutgoingsidekick



Series: Modern Newsies Au [3]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Eventual Relationships, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Get Together, M/M, Me projecting my love of John Hughes movies into these characters??, N e v e r ...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-05-16 01:19:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjusttheoutgoingsidekick/pseuds/imjusttheoutgoingsidekick
Summary: Three seperate dates led Spot to three very important realisations.





	1. March 17th - Gabi

It all started on March 17th. Spot had never been good with math, the numbers would jumble and mix in his head and he had just recently memorised his multiplication tables. So when Mrs. Spencer suggested he start tutoring, he wasn't surprised. She asked him to come to the library that afternoon when school let out, and she would have a student tutor there for him.

What Spot didn't expect, was for the tutor to be a girl. A Freshman girl. He walked into the library expecting to find some dweeby mathlete waiting for him, or maybe even Race. Instead he got a girl around his height with fiery red hair and just as much fire behind her bright green eyes.

"I'm Gabi, and I'm here to teach you math." She stuck out her hand and Spot tentatively shook it, almost afraid she would bite. She had a purple binder laid out on the table and a math textbook open on the space beside it. He eyed her purple backpack and matching monogrammed lunchbox. She really liked purple.

"You're a freshman aren't you." Spot stared at her as she rooted through a purse before pulling out a calculator.

Gabi looked up at him, "yes I am. And you're a sophomore who needs to learn math." The look in her eyes told Spot not to press any further. He sat down beside her and skimmed over the textbook.

An hour and a half later, Spot had a somewhat. better understanding of the math, and Gabi needed a ride.

"I can take you," Spot offered. 

The ride wasn't awkward which surprised them both. They talked the whole time, and Spot dropped her off with a new feeling filling his chest.

Little did he know, this was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay this was a short chapter... Longer ones to come!!
> 
> As always, kudos make my day and comments are my life so... Take a sec to drop a few if you enjoyed it!!


	2. April 3rd - A Kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is longer yay! Sorry for the wait, i had the inspiration, just not the availability or writing tools.
> 
> In other news I have plans to watch Sexy Corn The Musical instead if sleeping because insomnia is a raging bitch.

Over the next few weeks Spot and Gabi grew much closer. They exchanged numbers and texted constantly, about everything from math to politics to pop culture.

They even had a groupchat with Spot, Gabi and Race, seeing as he sometimes tagged along to study sessions because he didn't have another ride home. Race and Gabi connected immediately too, which made Spot equal parts surprised and happy.

On Saturday April 3rd, they were discussing movies.

RaceYa: yo Gabba Gabba what's your all time favourite J.H. movie??  
SpottedDick: oh god no.  
RaceYa: oh god yes  
GabiTheGreat: what are we talking about  
GabiTheGreat: who is JH?  
RaceYa: *gasp*  
RaceYa: I'm offended.  
SpottedDick: run Gabi  
RaceYa: *knocks on door* Hello, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour John Hughes??  
GabiTheGreat: oh, John Hughes got it  
GabiTheGreat: I'm kinda partial to Pretty In Pink  
RaceYa: The Breakfast Club is better.  
RaceYa: The Breakfast Club is the BEST John Hughes movie.  
RaceYa: all others must bow to it.  
SpottedDick: um excuse me, there's this little masterpiece called Ferris Buller's Day Off???  
RaceYa: who's she, never heard of her  
GabiTheGreat: Ferris Buller's Day Off is pretty good too, but nothing beats Pretty In Pink  
*RaceYa renamed group chat Breakfast Club For President*  
*Gabi The Great renamed group chat Molly Ringwald For President*  
RaceYa: fight me Susan  
GabiTheGreat: Tuesday after school behind the dumpsters  
RaveYa: be there or be square bitch  
GabiTheGreat: ... that's not how this works ...  
*RaceYa renamed group chat Fight Me Susan*  
SpottedDick: ...  
SpottedDick: changing the subject before you two kill each other  
SpottedDick: so has anyone here seen The Blind Side?  
GabiTheGreat: YES SJ IS MY SON  
RaceYa: quality movie.  
SpottedDick: okay at least I know it's good, Smalls and Crutchie ganged up on me and now I have to get it when I got to library  
RaceYa: mmm relatable  
GabiTheGreat: *has no siblings* *can't relate*  
GabiTheGreat: speaking of the library where tf are you  
GabiTheGreat: you were supposed to be here like an hour ago.  
SpottedDick: no way you said 1:00  
GabiTheGreat: no I said noon.  
SpottedDick: shit  
SpottedDick: otw now

Spot jumped down from the top bunk, scaring Jack shitless. He grabbed his phone charger off the dresser and his backpack from beside the door, before heading downstairs. He finding Medda in the kitchen. "I'm off to the library mama, be back around four or five?"

Medda smiled, "Okay Sean, just be home for dinner."

The drive to the library took roughly fifteen minutes, and Spot filled the time with music by All Time Low. He would never admit to it in public, but he was a huge All Time Low fan. His favourite song was Kicking and Screaming, followed closely by Dear Maria, Count Me In.

Spot pulled up to the library and parked, seeing Gabi sitting on a bench outside. She looked up from her phone and smirked.

He shrugged and smiled apologetically, "sorry Sunshine, traffic was murder." She grinned at his subtle reference and they headed inside.

The first hour and a half was spent on math, but soon they were just sitting and talking. Spot found that it was easy to talk to Gabi. Talking to her was almost like talking to Race. 

"No way you've had detention before," Spot looked at her with disbelief.

Gabi rolled her eyes, "I'm not all that innocent you know." She brushed off the skeptical look Spot gave her, "there was this kid who was picking on James, one of the kids in the SpecialEd classes. The dude was being a total jerk, calling him names and taking his stuff. So I punched him. End of story."

Spot tipped back in his chair and laughed, "how is that somehow both believable and insanely unbelievable at the same time?" He grinned, "it's definitely something you would do."

"So have you ever gotten detention," Gabi asked, fiddling with her pen.

Spot sighed, "more times than fit on one hand that's for sure."

"Any that you're proud of?"

Spot nodded, "yeah quite a few," he thought back to all the times he'd had detention with Snyder. "The first time was for threatening to fight Oscar and Morris Delancey because they were making fun of Crutchie." 

"You mean Charlie," Gabi asked.

"Yeah, same difference." Spot smiled a little, "one time in 9th grade I beat up this kid Adam who was a senior for picking on my friend Albert. That sure was a memorable one." He let his chair legs back to the ground with a thump, "Al has enough to worry about without having some upperclassman asshole stealing his lunch."

Gabi stared incredulously, "people still steal lunches?"

"Oh yeah, and all kinds 'a other petty shit like that."

After that Gabi started packing up and Spot, as always, offered her a ride. The ride to her house was short, only ten minutes from the library. But it was ten minutes in the opposite direction of Spot's house. When Spot pulled up at the base of her driveway, Gabi turned towards him.

"Thanks for the ride," she said. And then she did something that Spot was not expecting in the least.

Gabi leaned in and kissed him.

After she pulled away, she darted out if the car before Spot could say anything. Either way he didn't know what he would have said. He ended up driving randomly through Gabi's neighbourhood until his already almost empty fuel meter was hovering just above the E. he made a quick stop for gas and headed home.

Thankfully, Medda had gone out to the theatre to see a show, so when Spot burst in yelling for a 'family meeting this instant' he didn't have to deal with a concerned parent. Only angry siblings.

"What the fuck Spot," Smalls shouted when he snatched the remote and turned off the TV. "Sam and Dean were just about to start the apocalypse!"

"You've seen that episode twenty thousand times. I haven't been kissed twenty thousand times."

"you did wHAT NOW!?!?" Crutchie screeched. Spot simply nodded. "JACK GET THE HELL IN HERE RIGHT NOW YOUR BROTHER GOT KISSED."

The sound of the garage door opening could be heard, and a clueless Jack called out, "what the fuck is going on?"

"SPOT GOT KISSED NOW GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

Jack arrived a moment later, "good for Racer, I'm glad you two figured your shit out."

Spot was taken aback, "what? No, it was Gabi. Gabi kissed me."

Smalls bounced up and down on the couch, "how was it, was it good? Was it soft? I bet it was soft."

"Um," Spot racked his brain to remember what it felt like. "It was a kiss, I guess?" He paused, "I mean, it was short and... A kiss."

Jack gave him a glare, "wow Spot, very eloquent."

"So are you two like..." Crutchie prompted.

"Honestly, I have no idea." This earned a collective groan from his siblings. "I mean, I hadn't been getting any... Signals or vibes or whatever... From her."

Smalls sighed, reaching for the remote and switching the TV back on. "He's as hopeless as Castiel." Spot smacked the back if his sister's head and sent a few profanities her way.

Crutchie sighed too, fed up with Spot's cluelessness. "Do you have your phone?" Spot nodded, "good."

Crutchie then pushed him over to the kitchen and out the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. Before Spot could protest, he slid the doors closed and locked them.

"Now you can't come back in until you've figured out what you two are," Crutchie's voice was garbled due to the glass between them, but Spot could still understand him. "And don't even think about using the front door, I'm locking it too." With that, Crutchie yanked the curtains closed.

Spot walked to the middle of the yard and sat down on the grass. He opened up Gabi's contact and hovered over the call button, before deciding against it. He was pretty awkward over the phone. Spot contemplated the idea of calling her of FaceTime, but instead decided just to text her.

SpottedDick: hey so um,,,  
SpottedDick: are we like a thing now?

A few minutes later, Spot received an incoming call from Gabi. He cringed slightly seeing as this was the exact situation he had been trying to avoid. Nevertheless, he picked up.

"Okay," Gabi said, "this is obviously your first rodeo, so I'm going to give you tips on what tondo and what to avoid. These aren't gender specific because gender is a social construct and also because they're based in the simple principal if common human decency. Got it?"

Spot nodded before remembering she couldn't see him. "Yeah, do I need to write them down?"

There was a pause. "Maybe." Another pause. "It depends on if you're actually going to want to remember and use them or not."

Spot decided that he should probably write them down. The only thing was, he was locked outside. 'Dammit Crutchie,' he thought. Spot fished a pen out of his pocket and clicked it. "Okay go."

"Number One," Spot held the phone between his shoulder and ear, poised to write on his forearm. "Never ever ever ever ever text someone. If it's truly important, you need to talk to them in person or call or use FaceTime."

Spot realised the angle at which he was writing was supremely awkward, so he put his phone on speaker and placed it in his lap. "Never ever text. Got it."

"Number Two. People want to be noticed. If you're in a relationship with someone, they want you to spend time with them. Usually small things will do, like at least texting them every day."

"Notice senpai," he mumbled to himself. "Okay, next."

"Number Three. Don't do anything that could hurt them. If you're in a relationship and you become disinterested in it break it off ASAP. And fully explain 'Its not you it's me," but like, in the nicest way possible. And don't insult them. Small things wear in a person over time."

"Got it, don't be shitty." Spot wrote his summary on his arm.

"And Number Four. Always say exactly what you mean. If you don't want to hurt someone, and you don't want to get hurt, it's easy. Just tell the truth."

"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." There was a silence as Spot wrote some more in his arm.

"So, using what I told you, what do you think you should do?" The words from anyone else would have sounded a bit controlling, but coming from Gabi they sounded soft and caring.

Spot thought for a moment, picking his phone back up and reading over the words on his arm. Rule Number Four, always tell the truth.

"That was my first kiss," Spot blurted out. "Well unless you count Lisa Macmillan behind the school in third grade."

"Your first kiss eh, did you like it?"

"I mean, I liked it..." he paused. "I don't have any other kisses to compare it to though."

"That's reasonable," Gabi stated. Then she added, "it was my first kiss, too."

Spot smirked to himself, "did you like it?"

There was a moment where Gabi didn't respond. "Yeah," she said eventually, "I think I did."

"Cool. So, um," Spot's palms were sweating and he swapped the phone from one hand to the other. "Does that make you my girlfriend?"

"It could," Gabi replied. "Or we could be sensible and go on a few dates first before we slap on labels."

"Sounds reasonable," Spot agreed. "How does coffee tomorrow at Stiltskins sound. Around... Two o'clock?"

"Perfect. It's a date."

"It's a date." 

*******  
BONUS  
SpottedDick: hey can you FaceTime?  
GabiTheGreat: yeah, why?  
SpottedDick: my brother locked me outside so I could 'figure my shit out'  
SpottedDick: he won't let me back in until I give him proof we sorted things out.  
GabiTheGreat: lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shh shh my darlings, you'll gay the gay ending you want.
> 
>  
> 
> [Edit:Autocorrect struck^^^ and I'm not fucking changing it]


	3. Race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay I finally posted

[Race]

Race was screwed.

He was in love with his best friend. His best friend, who was straight. His best friend who was straight and had a girlfriend.

Yeah he was fucked.

Race sat outside the school, waiting for his mom to come pick him up.

Mom: Hey Antonio, I’ll be home late today, can you get another ride home today? I’m sorry honey. 

Race sighed, this was just his luck. He dialed Spot’s number and dragged a hand over his face.

“Hey Sean,” he started. “My mom can’t come get me, do you think you could pick me up? I’m still at the school”

There was a pause, “yeah, yeah I can do that,” Spot replied.

“Thanks.” Race hung up

Three minutes later, Spot walked out of the doors leading from the office. Race turned around, “hey, you didn’t tell me you were still here.”

Spot nodded, “tutoring, you know.”

Race followed him to his car, sitting down and aggressively paying attention to his hands. Spot closed the door and started the car, turning in the radio.

Race was thankful for the music, it gave him a reason not to look at Spot. He was wearing a T-Shirt that Race had given him. Race couldn’t stand how fucking cute that was.

After what seemed like forever of staring out the window, they finally pulled up at Race’s house.

Race turned and looked his friend in the eyes. “Hey, uh,” he stumbled over his words, distracted by how easy it would be to kiss him right now. Twenty seconds of insane courage, he thought. As fast as he could, Race leaned over and kissed Spot. He lingered for maybe three seconds before his anxiety got the best of him and he pulled away.

“Thanks for the ride,” he squeaked out, grabbing his bag and running out of the car.

Totally. Fucked.

 

[Spot]

Spot had no idea what had just happened. Scratch that, he knew exactly what had happened. Race had kissed him.

Race had kissed him. Race, who was a boy. A boy had kissed him.

Spot didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think he liked Race, did he? Well, he didn’t think he liked Gabi either, but here they were.

Spot headed directly home, calling the second family meeting in two weeks. This time Medda was home, so he had to be discreet. He literally picked up Crutchie and carried him up the stairs, dumping him on the bottom bunk and calling for Smalls.

“What the fuck,” Jack mumbled, sticking his head over the edge of the bed.

“I got kissed.”

Crutchie rolled his eyes, “Spot we’ve been over this-“

Spot shook his head vigorously, “no. It wasn’t Gabi.” He paused, biting his lip thoughtfully. “It was Race.”

Jack groaned and flopped back onto his bed, “woop de doo Sean, I’m glad you got your shit figured out now let me sleep.”

“It’s five o’clock Jack, and I’m having a crisis.” He crosses his arms over his chest and looked up at his brother, “the least you could do is help me out a little.”

He sighed and sat down backwards in his desk chair, spinning around a little. “I don’t know what to do.”

Crutchie laid on his stomach on the bed, putting his head down on his hands. “Well, how was it?”

Spot closed his eyes and raised his head to the ceiling, remembering. “It was... really nice, actually,” he smiled a little. He shook his head and opened his eyes, “but I’m dating Gabi. I-“ he swallowed, “I don’t know what to do.”

Jack looked down at him, “listen Spot, I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but here’s my advice; you’re in love. I know you are. I don’t know what you think about sexuality and all that, but you two are meant for each other.”

“I-I don’t know, about sexuality and all that. I’ve never really thought about that?” Spot shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, “this is all so stupid.”

“No, it’s not stupid,” Smalls said, “it’s just a little bit hard.” She pursed her lips, “here’s a start, who have you had crushes on?”

Spot racked his brain to no avail, “I, haven’t really?” He groaned and folded his arms in the back of the chair, laying his head down.

“You have to have had a crush.” Crutchie was in disbelief, staring at Spot with utter confusion in his face.

“I haven’t really had time, with all the foster homes and stuff.”

Smalls nodded, understanding his point of view.

At that moment, Medda called them down for supper. Smalls stood, clapping her brother on the back, “you’ll figure it out Spotty.”

Spot barely touched his pot roast. Supper flew by and he immediately went upstairs. He laid in bed, thinking and thinking and thinking.

Race was fairly attractive, objectively speaking. His eyes were really nice and he was tall and slender.

And his lips were really soft. It was nice to kiss them. Soft and sweet.

Spot didn’t know what to think about this.

He racked his brain for information. Had he really never had a crush? Wow. Well he had to start somewhere. Being the scatterbrain he was, Spot knew if he wanted to retain anything from this brainstorm he would need to write it down.

He tiptoed downstairs and switched on the light, pulling a notebook from his bag and flipping to a new empty page.

 

Prior Knowledge: -I have a girlfriend -I got kissed by a boy -I liked it -I’ve never had a crush

 

Spot groaned, that wasn’t much of a start.

 

Are girls cute? -Gabi is pretty.-Scarlett Johansson is aesthetically pleasing too.

But is this substantial evidence that I like girls?

 

Spot chewed on the end of his pen, running through other famous women in his head. Nothing gave him a reaction worth writing down.

He sighed again and ran through male actors in his head. Tom Holland was absolutely adorable, but even a straight man knew that. Leonardo DiCaprio was pretty hot in Titanic.

 

Guys are hot.

Girls are not.

Am I gay?

 

He circled those last words and tapped them with the end of his pen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do-Wop, my son is figuring things out in a heathy way. Now to see if they /actually/ talk about it  
> Mwa ha ha ha ha


	4. The Happy Ending Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Posting the last chapter like, m o n t h s late?? Naw,,,

Spot stared at the page on his notebook, wondering what to do. What if he was gay, would he be accepted? He needed to talk to someone. 

Spot stood, making his way to Medda's bedroom. He heard the TV playing softly from inside the room and he knocked on the door. "Mama?" He called out quietly, hoping the TV meant she was still awake. 

The noise from the TV got even quieter. "Yes? Come in," Medda replied. Spot opened the door and she looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Sean, is something wrong?"

Spot sighed, standing in the doorframe, "I-" he hesitated. "I honestly don't know. I just need to talk." Medda scooted over, patting the bed beside her. Spot sat down beside her, leaning in her like he was a little kid again, sitting in bed with his mother. 

"Miss Medda, I've been thinkin' lately and I think I've come to a conclusion, but I don't know how to feel about it."

She ran a comforting hand through his hair, "you can tell my anything Sean, I'll still love you just as much no matter what you say."

Spot nodded and gulped. "I think-" he shook his head and took a deep breath. "I think I might like boys. Like, only boys and not girls. Actually, one boy in particular. Race- er - Tony. It's Tony. I think I like Tony. And that really scares me mama."

He said this all very fast, but Medda caught every word. "Oh, Sean," she pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his back to soothe him. "That's okay, I've suspected it for a while now."

Spot pulled back, "you have? How'd you know?"

Medda smiled, "you may not be my biological son, but I still have a mother's intuition."

Spot laughed at this, and returned her hug. 

"All I have to say, Sean, is that if you love Antonio, I think you should go for it. And you should know that none of us, not me or your siblings or any one if your friends are going to love you any less because of who you choose to love." Spot nodded at this, and yawned. 

"You've done a lot if thinking, Sean. Go back to sleep, and make sure to talk to Antonio soon."

"I will mama." Spot got up and headed out the door, pulling it closed behind him. He turned out the lights and stuffed his notebook back in his bag. As soon as he hit his bed, he was fast asleep. 

The next day was Saturday. Spot waited until an appropriate hour, then called Gabi. He told her he needed o talk, and asked if she could meet him at Stiltskins at noon. She agreed, and Spot was relieved. 

At 12:00 sharp, Gabi walked into the coffee shop. She quickly saw Spot in the back and went to sit with him. 

"Hey Sean, you said you needed to talk?"

Spot sighed. "Yeah. You said if something was important, to do it in person, so here I am."

She gave him a confused look as he held out his hand, but she took it anyway. "Look, I'm about to just do a lot of talking, so if you could just wait until I've gotten it all out, that would be great." She nodded. 

"I really like you Gabi, but I think it's as more of a friend than anything else. Please don't take it personally. You were my first kiss, and my first date, but since those were all firsts, I don't think I noticed the spark that was missing from all of it. I- I like guys, Gabi. And I know that now because yesterday when I took Race home, he kissed me. I felt a spark then that I didn't feel with you. I didn't think it would be fair to you if I kept going on with this relationship if my heart was somewhere else."

He finished and looked up at Gabi. There weren't tears in her eyes, no hurt in her face, just a small smile. "I had a feeling," she mused. 

Spot groaned, "that's what my mama said too. How come everyone knew I was gay before I did?"

Gabi laughed at that, stroking the back of his hand before letting go. "You were just confused Sean. But not that everything's clear, you need to go out and get your boy!"

"I know I know," Spot replied.

But how?

~~~~~

Spot texted Race to meet him in the park at two, by the swings. He was nervous, waiting to see if his best friend would show up. 

Race finally did, at ten past two, and Spot smiled. "Hey Racer, let's go on a walk."

They walked the trail through the woods, mostly for privacy, but partly because it was one of their favourite things to do together. Halfway through the trail, there was a gazebo down another path, about ten feet off the main. 

Spot led him over to it, and they sat down. 

Race spoke first. "If you're here to talk about what happened yesterday, you don't have to. I'm sorry for doing that, it wasn't my place. You have Gabi. I shouldn't have done it, it was dumb an-"

"Race, Racer, Antonio," Spot called his name a couple times, but Race was too caught up in apologising. Spot leaned over, planting his lips softly on Race's. 

Race gasped, before quickly kissing back. Spot brought a hand up to gently cup his face, and Race put a hand on the back if Spot's head. 

They pulled apart, "I-you-we-I don't-" Race stumbled over his words. 

Spot leaned in again, kissing him softly. It was just a small peck, but it got Race to stay quiet. 

"I like you Race," his hand was still on his friend's face, and he gently ran his thumb across Race's cheekbone. "I like you a lot. And I want you to be my boyfriend, if that's okay with you." Race was absolutely silent. 

It was Spot's turn to stutter now, "of course if you don't want to that's fine because relationships are mutual things and mutual means-"

He felt soft lips on his own. Race kissed him for a moment before pulling away. 

"So, are we, are you, like," Spot prompted. 

"My boyfriend. You're my boyfriend. And I'm yours."

Spot smiled, and they leaned in once more, lips fitting together perfectly. It was soft and warm and everything they needed. Race carded his fingers through Spot's hair. Spot used one hand to cradle Race's face and planted the other firmly on his hip. They both grinned into the kiss, breaking apart when the smiling made the kissing too hard. 

Race intertwined their fingers. They stood, and Race kissed his friend's- no- boyfriend's cheek, and they walked the rest of the trail hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> And that kids is how two dorks who were madly in love finally got together. Thank you for reading!!!


End file.
